The nitty-gritty: A long-running, mysterious children’s television show is the catalyst for emotional trauma in this intriguing but uneven and confusing story. “What did Mister Magic look like? He was tall and enormous. He was slight and lithe. He didn’t have arms or legs. He was all arms and legs. He was a person. He […]
The nitty-gritty: Truth and fiction blur together in Catriona’s Ward’s latest, a complex tale about death, love and stories. “Friends can break your heart, it seems, just like love.” I never know what to expect from a new Catriona Ward book, other than it’s sure to be complex and different, and Looking Glass Sound is […]
The nitty-gritty: A dark, twisty tale about pregnancy, with horrors both real and imagined, Delicate Condition should be on every thriller fan’s TBR. “My favorite superstition is the one that says more women deliver during a full moon than at any other time of the month. Transforming into mothers instead of wolves. Howling like wild […]
The nitty-gritty: Sweet, emotional and at times heartbreaking, Thornhedge is a perfect, feel-good fairy tale. “You could not hate a child—only a monster would hate a child—but the child was a monster in the shape of a child, an elfin creature whose power was only contained by her youth and her unfamiliarity with the world.” […]
The nitty-gritty: Chuck Tingle tackles some big themes in his latest, a fun, entertaining and heartfelt story about being yourself. “This is my parents’ worst nightmare,” I announce, gazing at the living room ceiling with a pillow behind my head. “Their gay daughter and her lesbian girlfriend in a spooky old farmhouse doing drugs with […]
The nitty-gritty: Yume Kitasei tackles the “survival in space” trope but adds emotional themes as well in this stellar debut novel. “What was it about mothers, that they could know you so well? And not know you at all.” The Deep Sky is an exquisitely written SF debut, and I absolutely loved it. This is […]
The nitty-gritty: A tense slasher with an intriguing mystery makes Dead of Winter a must read for Darcy Coates fans. So far I’m two for two with Darcy Coates! I loved her last book, Gallows Hill, and Dead of Winter is completely different but just as good. Coates uses the tried and true locked room […]
The nitty-gritty: Evil takes over a boys’ orphanage in this gory, claustrophobic tale. I’m so glad I finally read a book by Philip Fracassi, and after my experience with Boys in the Valley, I’m eager to read more of his work. This is a tightly plotted, emotional horror story involving demonic possession, and I went […]
The nitty-gritty: The forest setting in R.J. Barker’s latest epic fantasy is the star of the show, in this well crafted adventure with high stakes and heart. “What of mushrooms?” she said. “I like a good mushroom.” “They are mostly fine,” he answered, “though some types will kill you if you eat them, and others […]
The nitty-gritty: Shocking and audacious, Maeve Fly combines repulsive violence with unexpected emotion, and I could not put it down. “Having stripped most of the flesh down with chemicals and the slow cooker, and having worked my muscles to a place beyond fatigue with the hacking, I now have to dry the bones outside in […]